A Protective Glove

ABSTRACT

A protective glove for protection against cuts or puncture wounds comprises an inner layer that is in contact with the hand when the glove is in use, a protective layer at least on a part of the palm side of the glove, and an outer layer. The protective layer comprises a composition of a wire mesh of woven metal wires. The protective layer comprises at least two sheets of woven metal, a first sheet of the two sheets having a palm portion and at least one finger or thumb portion, a second sheet of the two sheets having a palm portion and at least one finger or thumb portion different from said first sheet. The two sheets of woven metal are attached to each other adjacent at least at a part of the line defined by the transition between the fingers and the palm.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a protective glove for protection against cuts or puncture wounds. The glove comprises an inner layer that is in contact with the hand when the glove is in use, a protective layer at least on a part of the palm side of the glove, and an outer layer. The protective layer 1 comprises a composition of a wire mesh of woven metal wires. The protective layer further comprises at least two sheets of woven metal. A first sheet of the two sheets has a palm portion and at least one finger or thumb portion. A second sheet of the two sheets has a palm portion and at least one finger or thumb portion different from said first sheet.

BACKGROUND

People are exposed to cuts or puncture wounds in many different situations. For cleaning personnel the presence of used hypodermic syringes in public places as well as sharp objects in the rubbish is a common problem. Used syringes and broken glass are also used as a threat in situations where people are under attack, and therefore police, watchmen and other security personnel are exposed to injuries of this kind. Nor is it uncommon to find broken glass at the scene of an accident and in such places the persons assisting are in danger of receiving cuts in connection with rescue work. Firemen are particularly exposed to such injury when they have to enter buildings where there is a fire, and where broken glass or other sharp objects often is present.

Another situation where it is relevant to use protective gloves is in the field of medical and laboratory work, where sharp objects are employed while blood and other body fluids are also handled with the risk of infection this involves.

Other cases where there is a need for protective gloves are in the fishing industry, where sharp hooks represent a danger, and in the fish processing or meat production business, e.g. slaughterhouses.

Further areas are building construction and industry where plate work or glass work is carried out

The protective gloves for use in such or similar cases should fulfil several requirements. The gloves should prevent sharp objects from penetrating them and reaching the skin, they should permit ease of movement when wearing the garments, they should be easy to wash and possibly disinfect, and in general they should be comfortable to use. The latter will lead to the advantage that the gloves are always used when there is any risk of injury, and not only in special, highly exposed situations.

There are several known solutions for protective gloves comprising a protective layer. One example is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,581,212 where small dimensions in a wire mesh of a protective layer have proved to be successful. This leads both to material savings and to the achievement of substantial mobility when using the protective glove. At the same time the small aperture in the wire mesh prevents thin, sharp objects from penetrating the protective layer. A particularly high degree of protection, with a further reduction in the ability of sharp objects to penetrate the glove, is achieved by using several sheets in protective layer of wire mesh.

However, one problem with using several sheets in a glove is that eventually it becomes difficult to grab something even if a very thin wire mesh is used.

One solution to this problem is disclosed in SE 533 929 C2. A protective glove for protection against cuts or puncture wounds comprises an inner layer that is in contact with the hand when the glove is in use, a protective layer, and an outer layer. The protective layer comprises a composition of a wire mesh of woven metal wires and the protective layer comprises at least two sheets of woven metal. A first sheet has a palm portion and a thumb portion and a second sheet has a palm portion and four finger portions. The two sheets are actually just one sheet of material that has been folded with a folding line in the protective layer at the opening of the glove, i.e. on the opposite side of the palm from the fingers. This of course means that the protective layer will have twice the number of sheets for the palm portion compared to the portion of the protective layer for the fingers (and the thumb). However, in most cases it is desired to have better protection for the palm of a hand.

This one folded sheet is according to one aspect advantageous but when manufacturing the sheet the spillage of material is considerable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to provide a protective glove which overcomes the problem of much material being wasted and to provide an improved glove.

This object is achieved by the protective glove as set forth in the appended claims.

According to the present invention a protective glove for protection against cuts or puncture wounds comprises an inner layer that is in contact with the hand when the glove is in use, a protective layer at least on a part of the palm side of the glove, and an outer layer. The protective layer comprises a composition of a wire mesh of woven metal wires, the protective layer comprising at least two sheets of woven metal. A first sheet of the two sheets has a palm portion and at least one finger or thumb portion. A second sheet of the two sheets has a palm portion and at least one finger or thumb portion different from said first sheet. The two sheets of woven metal are attached to each other adjacent at least at a part of the line defined by the transition between the fingers and the palm.

Thus, by having two separate sheets joined together, the design of the two sheets is possible to make in order to minimize the spillage of material. A further problem with prior art is also that when the glove has been used, after a while the sheets of the protective layer in the palm portion closest to the fingers tend to curl up into a lump of metal. By attaching the various sheets to one another adjacent the transition between the fingers and the palm, i.e. where the inside of a hand is bent to a large extent when something is to be gripped. Adjacent the transition is meant to encompass the attachment being made between the upper part of the palm or the side of the palm closest to the fingers and the lower part(s) of the finger(s), i.e. close to the base of the finger(s).

According to one aspect of the present invention the two sheets of woven metal are attached to each other also adjacent at least a part of the palm side closest to the opening of the glove. A further alternative is to attach the sheets to one another along a line running from the transition between the fingers and the palm to the opposite side of the palm, i.e. towards the opening of the glove.

According to another aspect of the present invention said first sheet has a palm portion and a thumb portion. By having the thumb portion on its own combined with the palm portion the waste of material is minimized.

With the same argument as for the first sheet above said second sheet has a palm portion and four finger portions according to one aspect of the invention. The fingers for a glove are essentially parallel to one another and the finger portions combined with a palm portion make a sheet that is close to rectangular.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention each finger portion of the protective layer has a waist such that it is arranged at a position corresponding to the finger tip of the glove. In this context the thumb is also considered as a finger, i.e. the thumb portion also has a waist.

According to a further aspect of the present invention the protective layer is attached at least partly to the inner layer of the protective glove. This is particularly beneficial if the attachment is made at the tips of the fingers and thumb. For instance, if the hand is wet, when pulling the hand out of a glove the lining or inner layer has a tendency to follow at least partially out of the glove making it sometimes difficult inserting the hand into the glove again. By this attachment this retraction of the lining could be avoided or at least minimized. Preferably, the protective layer is attached to the inner layer by means of an adhesive.

In order to avoid or minimizing the risk of the protective layer from being dislocated the protective layer is according to a further aspect of the present invention attached at least partly to the outer layer of the protective glove. Also in this case it is preferred that the protective layer is attached to the outer layer by means of an adhesive.

The attachment between the various metal sheets is according to one aspect of the present invention made with a seam, i.e. the various sheets in the protective layer are attached to one another with a seam. However, there are options such as ultrasonic welding etc.

For maintaining the flexibility in the glove the sheets are woven from metal wires consisting stainless steel according to an aspect of the invention. Corroded metal have a tendency to be somewhat stiffer compared to when not corroded.

For thinner sheets the metal wires are according to yet another aspect of the present invention monofilament wires.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be further disclosed with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment with the basic layout of a protective layer according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows an alternative embodiment of a protective layer according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows one of the sheets in a protective layer of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 shows two identical sheets of a protective layer of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

DISCLOSURE OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A protective glove for protection against cuts or puncture wounds according to the present invention comprises an inner layer that is in contact with the hand when the glove is in use, a protective layer 1, see FIG. 1, at least on a part of the palm side of the glove, and an outer layer. The protective layer 1 comprises a composition of a wire mesh of woven metal wires. Further, the protective layer 1 comprises at least two sheets of woven metal, the first sheet 2 of the two sheets has a palm portion 3 and a thumb 4 portion. The second sheet 5 of the two sheets has a palm portion 6 and four finger 7 portions. The two sheets 2, 5 of woven metal are attached to each other with a seam 11 adjacent at least at a part of the line defined by the transition 8 between the fingers 7 and the palm 3, 6.

In FIG. 2 there is also shown a seam 11 on the palm side 9 close to where the opening of the glove is located. Further, in FIG. 2, the finger 7 and the thumb 4 portions are slightly longer as compared to the protective sheet shown in FIG. 1 and provided with waists 10. With this embodiment the protective layer is able to protect the top of the fingers 7 and thumb 4. In order to avoid having bulky fingertips of the glove, the waist is arranged to be exactly on top of the fingers. The number of sheets could be varied according to the required degree of protection. For instance, five sheets of each type of sheet 2 and 5. These could be arranged in groups of five sheets with the “thumb” sheet 2 and five sheets with the “finger” sheet 5 and then attached to one another. An alternative, could be to “sandwich” the sheets such that every second sheet is a “thumb” sheet 2.

FIG. 3 shows the sheet 5 having the fingers and a palm portion. The sheet 5 is cut out of a large sheet of material and the outline shape of the sheet 5 is close to rectangular which means that the spillage of material not being possible to use for anything else is relatively small.

Also, FIG. 4 shows two copies of the other sheet 2 with the thumb portion and the palm portion. The two sheets 2 are arranged such the spillage of material can be kept at a minimum.

The foregoing is a disclosure of an example practicing the present invention. However, it is apparent that modifications and variations will be obvious to one skilled in the art. Inasmuch as the foregoing disclosure is intended to enable one skilled in the art to practice the instant invention, it should not be construed to be limited thereby, but should be construed to include such modifications and variations as fall within the scope of the claims. For instance, the two sheets could have a different finger and thumb combinations than the embodiment shown in the figures, e.g. one sheet with the palm, thumb and the little finger and the other sheet with the palm and remaining fingers. Also, sheets could have finger portions that overlap each other as well.

Further, for optimizing the glove the outer layer is generally adapted to the designated use, i.e. concerning material, wear, grip, etc. Also, the number of sheets could also be varied such that the number of sheets is not necessarily the same for the at least two different kinds of sheets. 

1-12. (canceled)
 13. A protective glove for protection against cuts or puncture wounds, comprising: an inner layer that is in contact with the hand when the glove is in use; an outer layer; and a protective layer, located between said inner layer and said outer layer, and covering at least a palm portion of said glove, and, wherein, said protective layer comprises: a first sheet, comprised of woven metal wires, and having a palm portion and a thumb portion, and; a second sheet, comprised of woven metal wires, having a palm portion and at least one finger portion, and being joined to said first sheet along a line defined by the transition between the fingers and the palm.
 14. The protective glove of claim 13, wherein, said first and second sheet are further joined to each other in region of the palm side closest to the opening of the glove.
 15. The protective glove of claim 14, wherein, said second sheet comprises at least four finger portions.
 16. The protective glove of claim 15, wherein, each of said finger portions of said second sheet has a waist arranged at a position corresponding to a tip of said finger portions.
 17. The protective glove of claim 16, wherein, said protective layer is attached to said inner layer.
 18. The protective glove of claim 17, wherein, said protective layer is attached to said inner layer by an adhesive.
 19. The protective glove of claim 16, wherein, said protective layer is attached to said outer layer.
 20. The protective glove of claim 19, wherein, said protective layer is attached to said outer layer by an adhesive.
 21. The protective glove of claim 1, wherein, said metal wires are comprised of stainless steel.
 22. The protective glove of claim 21, wherein, said metal wires are monofilament wires. 